Water and Fish
by Ficsters for Small Fry
Summary: She took a chance that day as she got out of the rain. She never intended to find the love of her life, but she did.


I stood outside the store for nearly an hour debating whether or not to go in. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for and I worried that with Matthew, it would be too much for me.

As rain started to come down, I talked myself into going in, just to get out of the wet.

"Welcome to Creature Comforts, how may I help you?" Tthe elderly man asked with a kind smile. I returned a smile and took a quick look around the store.

"I'm after looking for an aquarium, but I don't know what to get," I replied hesitantly.

"Well, my dear, you'll need to talk to Edward. What he doesn't know about fish isn't worth knowing." He walked around the counter towards me and ushered me to the rear of the store. The humidity hit me as the tropical colors of various tanks overtook my senses.

"Edward, you have a customer, son," the gentleman called out and then left me just standing there. I looked questioningly at the tanks, not knowing what I was looking at letting myself in for.

"Hi, how can I help you?" I heard a soft voice question as I kept my eyes on the tanks. I couldn't believe that fish came in all the colors of the rainbow.

"My son's pediatrician recommended that I get a tank for his bedroom. He was recently diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and apparently the colors and movement will help calm him on bad days," I replied, still looking at what looked like Nemo.

"Fish are relaxing; so are the sounds of the filters and the air pumps." HHis chuckle was as smooth as his voice and I liked it. I smiled as I turned around to face him.

He was beautiful. There were no other words to describe him. Even in his ratty Tee and sweat pants, he was perfection, albeit, tall perfection. His hair was a mess on his head, but it suited him. I couldn't determine if his eyes were green because of the light in the store, but they were certainly an unusual color.

"So, what type of tank has grabbed your attention?" he asked as his hand guided me around the set ups and displays. I thought about what he said.

"Well, I don't want anything too small; otherwise it won't be worth having. I definitely liked the more colorful fish, but they look like hard work." I let out a nervous giggle.

"Is your son's bedroom on the ground floor?" he asked as I nodded to him in confirmation.

"That's good because most floors can't hold the weight of the tank. I would suggest you stick to a tropical community set up. Gold fish, as much as I love them, are pretty boring and marine tanks are extremely expensive to maintain. You would lose the lot if you had a power cut." I nodded at his words and we got to the tropical set ups.

"Size wise, I think a four foot tank would be great, if you have space for it. You can have a good mixture of top, middle and bottom feeders, plus enough room for plants and ornaments." I could see the light in his eyes sparkle as he talked about what fish we could get. This must have been a true passion for him.

"I'm overhauling his bedroom and have a full wall empty at the moment, so I don't think size would matter."

We continued to talk about what kind of tank I should get, what fish and how long it would all take.

"Once the tank is set up, it will take about two weeks to get established and then you can come in to choose the fish," he said with another smile as I looked at the tank I had chosen. It was a four foot, bow fronted tank on a solid oak cabinet. I had decided on natural gravel for the bottom of it and just had the plants and ornaments to choose.

"It doesn't matter how much you feed them, the bottom feeders are little piggy's and will eat the fresh plants, so plastic or silk ones are best." I nodded as he showed me some beautiful examples of fakes.

With everything chosen, he took me to the counter to pay for it all and I was surprised that he gave me his staff discount.

"You didn't need to do that." I tried to scold him, but it fell on deaf ears.

"I know I didn't have to, I wanted to."

With what I bought, he said that delivery for was free and we made plans for it to be delivered the next day. With Mathew, my son, being away with his father, I knew I had enough time to get it all set up for when he got back in just under two weeks time.

~o~

The following day, after much heaving about, Edward and his friend Jasper had the tank in place. They spent the next couple of hours filling it up and sorting out all the electrics. Although the water was murky, I knew it would look beautiful when it was all finished.

Jasper left after I made them lunch, but Edward insisted he stay until all the pumps and the thermostat were working at optimum levels.

We spoke a lot about our families and work. I told him why I loved to work with children who had special needs and he told me of his love of fish and water and how they took him to a different world, so far away from his own.

By the end of the day, he even asked me on a date. I was a little taken back by his request, but I couldn't turn down his smile.

"I know you have Matthew to think about, but I really feel as though we could have something together," he said as he held my hand at the front door. He kissed it gently and said goodbye, promising to return tomorrow to check on the water levels.

~o~

Two weeks later and I was impatiently waiting for Matthew to come home. I'd lost count at the number of times that I'd pleaded for a break, but when I got one, I was desperate to have him back in my arms. I loved him dearly and I didn't care if people thought he wasn't normal or if he was 'strange', to me, he was perfect and a gift. A gift I would cherish.

I knew at the age of seven he might not comprehend my new relationship with Edward, but I was nervous about how he would take it. In the last two weeks, we had been out together four times and talked every day on the phone or sent texts to each other.

My affection for Edward was growing. We both knew that Matthew was my number one priority and he was fine with that, but we both wanted to see where this would lead us.

Edward had left after a quick lunch and I promised to call him later after I had Matthew settled.

I was over the moon to hug my son again and bid his father a comfortable goodbye. Unlike many relationships that had broken down, we remained good friends. Matthew had run out into the back yard to play as I told Mike about Edward. He was happy for us, but warned that if he hurt me, he'd hunt him down. I laughed and called Matthew to say goodbye.

After dinner, I sat Matthew down and talked to him about Edward and how we met. I wasn't exactly surprised that he shrugged and ran off to see his new tank.

I made a promise that we could get the fish the next day and even though he was excited, he settled well.

I called Edward up after I made myself a hot chocolate and told him how I missed his arms round me. We had got into a routine last week of falling asleep in each other's arms as we watched films on the couch. Now I felt almost lost.

"I miss you too, Bella, but I can't exactly come over there now that Matthew's back, it wouldn't be fair on him." His voice soothed me. I knew it would be difficult for us, but I didn't understand how much until tonight.

We said a said goodnight, but our moods lifted slightly as I mentioned us coming to the store in the morning.

~o~

The morning couldn't come fast enough for Matthew and he was awake before the sun had a chance to rise.

At exactly nine o'clock, Edward opened up the stores' door and Matthew rushed in.

It didn't take him long to look at all of the fish and Edward was delighted that he got to show off a little of his knowledge. They got along extremely well, and by lunchtime Matthew invited Edward back to our house, with the fish of course.

Lunch was funny as both Edward and Matthew took breaks between their sandwiches to watch the fish get used to their new home.

Matthew was sad that Edward had to go back to work, but Edward promised that he would be back later, if it was ok with me. They both gave my puppy dog looks and I gave in, not that I would have said no anyway.

~o~

Six months had flown by in the blink of an eye and we were soon heading towards Christmas. Edward was now a firm fixture in our home and just three weeks ago, I asked him to move in. He didn't give me an answer straight away, but went to talk to Matthew first.

I was amazed at how much Edward loved him and had even spoken to Mike a few times on the phone when I was busy.

It didn't take long for our lives to settle into a family and Matthew even called Edward's parents Nana and Grandpa. They loved us as much as Edward did and I loved to cook with his mom.

We hadn't changed much in the house, but we did have a six foot marine tank in our living area and Matthew was delighted with the cast of Finding Nemo in it.

I looked out at the back yard through the kitchen window and saw that Edward and Matthew seemed to be having a heart to heart again. They did this often if Matthew was having problems. I wanted to step in at the beginning, but Matthew would have none of it. He wanted a man to talk to, apparently.

I smiled as I got the dining table ready for dinner.

A few minutes later, they both came in, sharing a strange look. I ignored it the best I could as we settled down for dinner.

As we finished, Edward took hold of my hand gently and got me to stand up. I gave him a puzzled look, but it was soon wiped off my face when he knelt in front of me, holding out a ring box.

"Bella, the day you walked into the store, I knew you were it for me. I knew you were worried about how Matthew and I would get along, but I can tell you now that he agreed to this. I love you both with all my heart; will you please do me the honor of making an honest man of me and becoming my wife?" His voice was as soft as the day I'd met him while I was looking at the fish.

Tears trickled down my face as I gave a silent nod, not trusting my voice at that moment.

He opened the ring box, I let out a gasp as I saw, nestled in the box, I white gold ring. It was two dolphins hugged tightly round a diamond. He knew that dolphins were my favorite animal, but how he managed to find a ring like that was astounding.

~o~

Our small wedding was held in the spring the following year on the local beach. It was as beautiful as I'd ever imagined.

Our honeymoon was spent exploring the Great Barrier Reef and all the sea life there. It was truly magical and I understood Edwards reasoning when he said that fish and water took him to another world.

After we returned, Matthew spent as much time as he could at Edward's store, and when it came to his future, he stated proudly that he wanted to take over his step-dads store.

~o~

A year after our wedding, Sophia was born, in a birthing pool no less.

Hugging him closely that night, I cried as we looked at our little girl.

"To think that it wasn't that long ago when you came into the store, looking for a tank," he whispered into my hair.

I sniffled in reply and thought back to that day.

It could have gone either way when I stood outside his store that day and I would be forever grateful that it rained when it did.

"We fell in love over fish and water." I giggled.

"That we did, my love. That we did."


End file.
